ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07213960Updated Sep 2, 2026

A Sequential Phase 2/3 Study of APL2 in Patients With Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

A Phase 2/3 interventional study of APL2 and Placebo in FSGS, sponsored by Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-02.

Sponsored by Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (part of Biogen) · Phase 2/3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2/3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
270
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a sequential phase 2/3 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of twice-weekly subcutaneous (SC) infusions of APL2 in patients diagnosed with FSGS. The initial phase 2 portion is a single-arm, open-label study in adults diagnosed with FSGS. Phase 2 will commence prior to randomizing for phase 3. The phase 3 portion of the study is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, multicenter study in adults and adolescents diagnosed with FSGS.

02

Conditions studied

  • FSGS

Keywords

  • Glomerulosclerosis
  • Focal Segmental
  • Child
  • Adult
  • Peptides
  • Cyclic
  • Complement Inactivator Proteins
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the lead sponsor of 28 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

Of its 18 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 16 (89%) have results posted.

First submitted before Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. became part of Biogen.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age

    • Phase 2: adults aged ≥18 years
    • Phase 3: adults aged ≥18 years; if and where approved, adolescents (aged 12--17 years) at the time of signing the and assent form
  • Weight ≥30 kg and ≤100 kg at screening
  • FSGS diagnosis

    • Phase 2: primary, genetic, or undetermined FSGS diagnosed by kidney
    • Phase 3: primary, genetic, or undetermined FSGS diagnosed by kidney biopsy or by recognized podocyte genetic mutation
  • At least 1.5 g/day of proteinuria on a screening 24-hour urine collection and a uPCR of at least 1.5 g/g in at least 2 FMU samples collected during screening
  • Estimated (eGFR) ≥25 mL/min/1.73 m2
  • Stable regimen for FSGS treatment for at least 12 weeks prior to randomization, with no planned or anticipated adjustments or dose changes to the stable treatment regimen

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous exposure to APL2
  • Evidence of improving kidney disease in the 8 weeks prior to screening or during the screening period according to available data
  • FSGS secondary to another condition (eg, infectious, diabetic, drug-induced, obesity, prematurity, sickle-cell, vesicoureteral reflux, congenital anomalies of the kidney, and urinary tract)
  • Type 1 or uncontrolled ( ≥8%) type 2 diabetes mellitus
  • History of kidney transplant
  • Current or prior diagnosis of , , or infection or positive serology or viral load during screening that is indicative of active infection with any of these viruses
  • to APL2 or to any of the
  • Significant other kidney disease that would, in the opinion of the investigator, confound interpretation of study results
  • Use of rituximab, belimumab, or any approved or anticomplement therapy within 5 half-lives of that product prior to the screening period
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(10)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Excipients

The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2 / Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
270 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Phase 2 - APL2

    Sub-cutaneous infusions of APL2 (1080 mg / 20mL) twice weekly

    Drug: APL2

  • Experimental
    Phase 3 - APL2

    Adults: Sub-cutaneous infusions of APL2 (1080 mg / 20mL) twice weekly Adolescents: ≥50 Kg: Sub-cutaneous infusions of APL2 (1080 mg / 20mL) twice weekly 35 to \<50kg: First sub-cutaneous infusion of 648mg (12 mL) followed by 810mg (15 mL) every infusion thereafter (i.e. twice weekly) 30 to \<35kg: First \& Second sub-cutaneous infusion of 540mg (10mL) followed by 648mg (12 mL) every infusion thereafter (twice weekly)

    Drug: APL2

  • Placebo comparator
    Phase 3 - Placebo

    Subcutaneous infusions of a sterile solution, twice-weekly, and equivalent in volume to the active arm based on participant's age and weight

    Other: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugAPL2

    Complement (C3) Inhibitor

  • OtherPlacebo

    Sterile solution of equal volume to active arm

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Phase 2: Evaluate the efficacy of APL2 in terms of change from baseline in log-transformed urine protein to creatinine ratio (uPCR)

    Change from Baseline in Log-Transformed uPCR will be based on triplicate first morning urine (FMU)

    Time frame: Baseline to Week 12

  2. Phase 3: Change from baseline in log-transformed urine protein to creatinine ratio (uPCR)

    Change from baseline in log-transformed uPCR will be based on triplicate first morning urine (FMU)

    Time frame: Baseline to Week 52

Secondary outcomes

  1. Phase 2: Evaluate the efficacy of APL2 in terms of change from baseline in log-transformed urine albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR)

    Change From Baseline in Log-Transformed uACR will be based on first morning urine (FMU)

    Time frame: Baseline to Week 12

  2. Phase 3: Change from Baseline in log-transformed urine protein to creatinine ratio (uPCR)

    Change from baseline in log-transformed uPCR will be based on triplicate first morning urine (FMU)

    Time frame: Baseline to Week 104

  3. Phase 3: Proportion of participants achieving Complete Remission

    Complete Remission is defined as participants who have achieved uPCR \<0.3 g/g

    Time frame: Week 104

  4. Phase 3: Slope of estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)

    The annualized eGFR slope

    Time frame: Baseline to Week 104

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Investigator Site 1
    Chicago, Illinois 60643, United States
    Recruiting
  • Investigator Site 2
    New York, New York 10032, United States
    Recruiting
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Start is estimated for Dec 2026; primary completion for Oct 2029, 34 months later.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 15, 2025
First posted
Oct 9, 2025
StartEst.
Dec 2026
Primary completionEst.
Oct 2029
CompletionEst.
Dec 2029
Last update
Sep 2, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 2, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07213960
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 9, 2025
Start date
Dec 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Oct 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 2, 2026

Study contacts

Apellis Clinical Trial Information Line
Contact
clinicaltrials@apellis.com
833-284-6361

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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